YOSTACTION.COM

The Yost
Single Shot 22 Rimfire Schuetzen Rifle

Mr. Edward J. Yost (1923 - 1990)

Ed Yost
was nothing short of a creative genius when it came to changing and modifying
mechanical things to fulfill his needs. And so it was, that when it came
time to make changes to his own action design, he didn't hesitate. It didn't take Ed long to want
to use one of his own actions to build a .22 rimfire cal. Schuetzen rifle.
One of the first things that became apparent with this project was the difficulty of chambering
the small .22 long rifle cartridge and the removing the spent case after firing.

Although
a small "loading / unloading" tool was first considered for these
tasks, Ed chose instead to make a radical change to the right side wall of his action. The Yost action side walls are similar to the side walls found on
the Winchester "High-Wall". What Ed did, was to "lower" the right
side wall making it similar to the side wall found on a Winchester "Low-Wall".
Ed was right handed, otherwise the left wall of the action can be likewise
modified for left handed shooters. With this modification. what Ed now
had could be called the Yost "High-Low-Wall" action.

This
change however, was not totally new. Harry M. Pope did a similar
face-lift on an original Winchester High-Wall which he re-barreled to .22
rimfire. What goes around, comes around.

Right side wall before modification to
action Right side wall
after modification to action

Right side wall of the Yost action
has been cut-down to give easier access for loading and unloading the
small 22 long rifle cartridge. Strength is not an issue because 22 long
rifle cartridge
is relatively low pressure. The sleek lines of the Yost action are not compromised
with this modification.

In addition to the optional action
modification, provision must be made to fire the rimfire cartridge. The following modifications
which are shown are but one of many ways to build up a Yost rimfire rifle.
First to be shown below is the modification of the striker pin and striker pin
bushing.

The striker's pin was
relocated to the right side of the cartridge rim. (as viewed from the
rear) This location is opposite the extractor. This is the method
Ed Yost used on his own 22 rimfire rifle.

Additional: The "Striker-pin
bushing" (which screws into the breechblock face) must be replaced with a newly made
"rimfire" version, or it must be modified with the addition of a
second hole for the rimfire pin.

The striker bushing in the
breechblock is made removable for is easy replacement if required.

The Striker Bushing can be
easily machined or modified by any competent gunsmith of machinist.

If the breechblock is modified
with a striker bushing having 2 holes, it would be possible to modify the
striker with a "changeable" pin in order to switch back-and-forth
between rimfire and centerfire.

An action bushing for .22
rimfire conversion is made to thread into the Yost action. A smaller,
5/8-18 NF tapped hole is offset downward .110 inches in the vertical
plane. The bushing must be "dialed" into the action within +/-
.001 of vertical. A penetrating "blue" (removable) loc-tite is
used to temporarily secure the bushing in place.

The .22 cal barrel shank is
threaded and screwed into the off-set bushing. In this position, the
striker will hit exactly at the 12:00 position on the top edge of the .22 cal
rimfire cartridge. Once satisfied that barrel is properly fitted in the
desired position, it is permanently secured into the action bushing using
"red" (permanent) loc-tite. When next the barrel is desired to
be removed, the bushing will remain attached to the barrel and thread free of
the action. Remove traces of the "blue" temporary loc-tite from
the outer bushing threads prior to re-installing it into the action.

(Note: The standard
centerfire extractor will require shortening with this modification. See
a competent gunsmith to perform this modification.)